Another Decade in the Books

as i sat down at my desk trying to figure out what memories i could draw to write this memorial of 2009, i realized that as hectic and crazy this year has been, it all surrounded a singular topic which readers of this blog know all too well by now. hopefully my regurgitation of history won't be as monomaniacal as my career has made me.

a good friend of mine asked me yesterday if 2009 was a good year for me, and in most aspects of my life, it really was. from several new toys to play with...to fostering friendships...to a conclusion of a rather uninspiring academic career...to a blooming professional path already flowered with milestones.

exactly last year, i was penning a post predicting my naivete in hoping for a 2009 full of highs. and exactly one year later, i don't find myself wishing for continued ebullience, but merely for progress...for too many seeds were planted this past year and they must be vigilantly nurtured.

december
the health reform battle that labored for months had culminated in a three-week floor battle and an ever more historical christmas eve vote for final passage. and sitting in the gallery of the senate, i witnessed a years worth of hard work be rewarded with 60 aye votes.
november
with the holiday season revving its engines and no extra chef hands to help this year, i decided to try something different. a turducken was ordered and prepared...then deliciously devoured as the pre-thanksgiving holiday feast continued.
october
another month consumed entirely by work...this time it was the precursor to december action, committee markup. countless hours, innumerable talking points, dem on dem bickering, and political courtship resulted in a bipartisan 14-9 passage of the finance committee version of health care reform.
september
as i hit my quarter century mark, i was gifted with a new computer (a beautifully sleek macbook pro whose keyboard glows a heavenly aura as i type) and a return of my black, equally sleek acura mdx that has now freed me from the shackles of wmata.
august
with congress heading home for recess, i was affordable a comfortable month of excessive indulgence as restaurant week reservations were made and a decadent trip out west was enjoyed.
july
is it a good thing that i only remember two moments of this month...and that i have previous entries about both? i'd like to think my life was more interesting than playing hearts as we awaited the splashing of fire and lights across the sky or a trip out to the vineyards of virginia on a perfectly weathered summer day.
june
sadly, june was a month that was spent trapped inside the dirksen building as negotiations raged on. minus sitting down at the smallest (6 seat) yet most intriguing meal of my life, june was a month consumed by work.
may
graduation month...the finale of two years of grad school and the nail in the coffin of my academic career. sure sure, education extends beyond the walls of a schoolyard and never ends...but it never felt so good to gain three little letters after my name.
april
i remember april to have dragged on...with senioritis weighing down my legs and extensive hours at work continuing to place burdens on my shoulders, i could not wait to escape the pouring showers of a long, wet spring.
march
the doldrums of winter caught up to me again this past march. a good california boy like myself can only handle the biting cold and dampness of snow and ice for so long. but i will remember the month as an old friendship was rekindled...if only ever so slightly.
february
the memories of this month have escaped me...sadly, the only thing i can really remember that caught my attention this month was the last minute toe-tipping catch santonio holmes made to win the superbowl...wonder what that says about february.
january
even though i was diverted by a blockade of obamaniacs, i will also remember january as the month i almost got to see obama inaugurated. even with the failures of the blue ticket gate, the inauguration was still the breath of fresh air the country needed...before a year of beer-summits, economic stimulus, and health care reform partisanship tainted our beliefs of hope.

so there is it, 2009 wrapped up in a neat little blogosphere bow. of it all, i will appreciate the past year as perhaps my most independent one of all. i spent wire-to-wire in the district with only a few days beyond its boarders...graduating with a degree, pouring hours and hours into a cause and finally seeing results, and the ability to reap in the rewards i actually felt that i earned.

to 2010...